Damaskinos the Stoudite

Damaskinos, the Stoudite (Gr. Δαμασκηνός, ὁ Στουδίτης) was a patriarchal exarch of Aitolia. He was born in Thessaloniki and was a student of Th. Eleavoulkos in Constantinople. Later in 1564, he became the Bishop of Liti and Rendini. He continued his career as Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Arta and some years later as Patriarchal exarch of Aitolia. He died in † 1577.

Life

He is generally thought to have been born ca. 1530-1535 and baptised with the name Demetrios. He refers to himself in his own works as a "Thessalonikeus"" and is therefore assumed to have been born in Thessaloniki. The adjective "Stoudite" is given as an honourary title of the period indicating that he was a scholar. He studied in the Patriarchal Academy (Gr. Πατριαρχικὴ Ἀκαδημὶα) of Constantinople during the reign of the Patriarch Jeremia I and Dionysios II and is also known to have travellined widely including Mount Athos, Meteora, Naupaktos and Arta, Russia and Venice. He was a major influential figure of the sixteenth century and also a well-known teacher.

Up to 1546, little biographical information of his life has survived. Between 1550 to 1559 it seems that his time was divided between Constantinople and the monasteries of Meteora in Thessaly of Greece.